I'm getting better, but understanding taxes, I mean really understanding them, has been one of the hardest parts of my FI journey due to the number of rules, moving targets, and annual changes (and now ACA). I have changed tax strategies many times over the past 14 years or so as my knowledge base has improved. Connecting with the ER community last year has given me the biggest shot in the arm by far. There are several CPAs on the forum than can help with specific questions as well.
One thing that really helped me boost my understanding of taxes, just this year, was to study, and I mean really study, my last several tax returns. (To the average person, they might as well be in Chinese, but you are not average if you are on this forum) Then get on one of the tax estimator websites (Taxcaster) and start playing with the figures and see what changes in your investment strategy/marriage/kids do to your taxes.
Right now I think the strategy outlined here:
http://www.madfientist.com/traditional-ira-vs-roth-ira/ is one of the best for ER types. Of course the risk is that congress goes and changes the rules before you retire, but you can't worry about that too much, just do the best you can right now.
